1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an opening/closing device mainly for use in a door member and more particularly, to an opening/closing device of a door member of a refrigerator which is arranged to open or close the door member at either desired side of the door member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A door member of a refrigerator has been generally designed to be opened or closed only at one side, namely, either at the right side or at the left side thereof. In other words, the door member has been already destined to be operable only at the right side or only at the left side when it was manufactured.
Therefore, a user has been obliged to select one of the two types of a refrigerator, one provided with the right-operable door member or the other provided with the left-operable door member, while taking considerations into the place where the refrigerator is placed. Moreover, after the purchase of the refrigerator, if it occurs that the user wishes to change the location for the refrigerator, inconveniences would be brought about such that the door member would hit the wall of the room, resulting in difficulties of opening/closing of the door member, and therefore the placing position of the refrigerator has been limited in prior arts.
Further, in the case where many people use the refrigerator, it may be difficult for those at the different side of their able arm to open or close the door member of the refrigerator.
To avoid such inconveniences as above, various types of an opening/closing device for the door member by which the door member can be opened/closed at the desired side, that is, the double-side-operable device have been proposed up to now.
FIGS. 141 and 142 illustrate respectively a representative double-side operable device of the type referred to above.
In the device of FIG. 141, hinge pins 20 and 20 are provided at the right and left corners of respective opposite upper and lower end portions of a door member 10. The hinge pins 20 are freely projectable upward or downward. Moreover, the hinge pins 20 are received by respective bearing recessed portions 40 each formed in a part of a main body 30 confronting to the upper or lower end portion of the door member 10. When either one of operating handles 50 provided in the door member 10 is rotated, either of the right and left hinge pins 20 are slipped off from the corresponding bearing recessed portions 40, so that the door member 10 becomes operable.
Referring to the double-side-operable device shown in FIG. 142, the refrigerator has a middle frame 80 which is bored at the central part thereof and sandwiched between a main body 60 and a door member 70. The middle frame 80 is pivotally fixed to the main body 60 at one lateral side of the right and left sides thereof, and also pivotally fixed to the door member 70 at the other side thereof. When one of right and left operating handles provided in the door member 70 is rotated, only the door member 70 can be rendered openable at one side, while the door member 70 and the middle frame 80 are all together rendered openable at the other side.